Electronic music has always been about specifics, but often it’s focused on the intricacies of sound design or a utilitarian blueprint for dancing. Some of the greatest electronic albums and tracks are futurist concept pieces, […]
King Kong Company: From cult band to actual cult
Over the last few years, Waterford crew King Kong Company have gone from Ireland’s biggest cult band to an actual cult — from having an afternoon mass at Electric Picnic, to posting downloadable gorilla masks […]
‘Fuck hotels’: No Surrender 2 at Bernard Shaw
The clock is ticking on the last days of Dublin clubbing, pubbing, cultural (and pizza) institution the Bernard Shaw, after the recent news that it’s closing its doors on Richmond Street South to make way […]
Pristine pop minimalism on Hiperson – Strawberries/草莓
London label Damnably has already made a big dent this year with Japanese act Otoboke Beaver and the across the board love for their hyper-visceral garage punk on debut album Itekoma Hits. Damnably is also […]
‘Life’s decay takes hold’: Vile Sermon – The Despair Regime
“HARSH NOISE, INDUSTRIAL, POWER ELECTRONICS, ETC… NEW RELEASE EVERY MONDAY,” screams the all-caps Bandcamp bio of Ohio cassette label Deathbed Tapes. If you start your week with this stuff you’ll be squinting a little harder […]
Shrimp-scuttling ambience on Jana Winderen – The Noisiest Guys on the Planet
If you live in Ireland, you get fairly used to waking up to the sound of raindrops on glass, then pulling the blinds to let a few shades of grey ooze in. And if it’s […]
The DIY synth absurdism of Look Mum No Computer
Sam Battle is the quintessential modern star, even if he’s forged a career out of vintage electronics. As Look Mum No Computer, he invents ludicrous electronic instruments out of obsolete toys and gadgets, and racks […]
The Mannheim Sound: Nick Curly and Marc Sholl pick their top 10 Cécille Records tracks
German electronic label Cécille Records is relaunching after going on “indefinite leave” in 2015 — rebooting a rich legacy of deep, minimal house and techno that became known as the ‘Mannheim Sound’. Founded in 2007 […]
Helmet: Strap It On for 30 years x 30 cities
The early 90s was the best time for extreme bands to be signed to major labels, with the likes of Sonic Youth, Ministry, Pantera and dozens more snapped up on the back of the success […]
Let’s get Gross Net done: An interview with Philip Quinn
As the grotesque spectre of Brexit hangs over the Halloween countdown, many artists are joining in the collective retch and railing against the ghouls who got us here. But not everyone can pull a Slowthai […]
Kneecap kicking against the pricks
Last week Belfast hip-hop act Kneecap posted a tweet quoting “some fella from Dublin” asking them, “Why would you rap in Irish? No one even speaks it”, above a photo of one of their recent […]
All the right noises: Moo Kid’s September 2019
Hyperreal collages, vampire pop, ritualistic dub, Belarusian cold wave, weaponised seagulls, poetic detours, neoclassical ambient, cave wall drones, War on Terror techno, Bjork taking a drill to Fever Ray and many more wonderful noises from […]
Outer limits grime abstraction on Mosca – Touchie Riddim
Copenhagen label FLUF has been prolifically releasing deviant abstract electronic music since 2017, fuelled by future sonics and a self-effacing sarcasm that transcends any pseudo academic pitfalls. I’ve said it before, but the regular type-font […]
Bill Drummond is going on tour for the rest of his life
Rave provocateur, anti-Illuminatist, magical realist and performance art seditionist Bill Drummond is going on tour for the rest of his life, and he’s got seven years left. He’s worked out his life expectancy as 74 […]
Pixies might be starting to give a shit again
In 2016, Spin magazine posted an article with the headline, ‘Has any great band ever cared less than the Pixies?’, hand-wringing over an “unnervingly low stakes” series of releases after their 2004 comeback. Spin had […]
Moo Kid 